Rick, Rick is that You?

...
I suddenly realize that this may in fact be THE Rick Steves, in person. I am so excited, I can't wait for Emily to come back to her seat. When she does I ask her if she knows what RIck Steves looks like, she says no and I tell her that I think it may be him! I debate for a few minutes to approach him and finally decide that if I don't, I will regret not knowing for sure. So I get up, walk into his car (he is the only one in there) and say, "umm, excuse me, are you Rick Steves?" I know, I know, not the greatest opening line ever, but still, I was NERVOUS and I could have just run up to him screaming, "Rick, Rick is that you?" (jk, mom). He said, yes that he was, and I told him I was a big fan of his. We talked about a bunch of stuff including, my trip, being robbed in Provence, mom and dad meeting him in Spain last year, and the rail strike in Germany. He was such an easy guy to talk to! I got my picture with him (it's a self portrait, I hope it turns out, because we have a regular film camera) and he was just really cool. At the end of the conversation he mentioned that when I graduate I should contact him and be one of his tour guides! How AWESOME is that? Afterwards, I was so excited, I sat with a grin on my face for the rest of the day. It's funny, I've met/seen much bigger celebrity (George CLooney, Brad Pitt) and I've never been so excited as I was to meet Rick...seriously, one of the coolest moments of my life. :)

More Berlin and BIG NEWS

I am now sitting in an internet cafe in Munich. Berlin was such a blast, we went on a walking tour of the city, went to the Allies museum, went up the Reichstag, and went to the concentration camp outside the city. We spent five nights in the city and honestly weren't ready to leave. Nonetheless, we headed off at 8 in the morning for Munich. We were quickly stopped however, because the German railway workers were on strike! I think this may be the first time in history that a German train wasn't efficient. We ended up getting a taxi from the U-Bahn station to the main train station and were lucky enough to have our train be one of the only ones not to be cancelled! We got on the train with a big relief and then about an hour in were stopped on the tracks for over an hour and a half. Apparently, the person who changed the tracks was on strike and we had to wait until 11 o´clock until the strike was over. geesh! WE just barely made our connection, and had to sprint to the next train...on which the BIG NEWS happened.

Our train was about to get in (in about 20 minutes) when I see some guy walk past to the bathroom. I look closer (I can´t see very well to begin with) and...I think I see...oh my God, is that RICK STEVES!? oh my, god, I think it IS Rick Steves.

....uh oh, run out of time. To be continued...

Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a donut)

First day down in the big ßerlin (yeah German keyboard!...and yes, I know that symbol stand for double s and therefore makes no sense to pronounce)

The Reedster and I are thinking we may never leave. Berlin is such a beautiful city and so welcoming, that we are having a blast. Today we slept in (comme d´habitude) and decided to just wander the city. We took the U-Bahn, S-Bahn to Alexanderplatz and walked our way back down the city center to Museum Island, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and some other sites. The main part of the city is really well planned out, what with all of the Museums in the same area and a long, wide boulevard with important monuments and buildings to see on it. Tomorrow are going to get up and take a walking tour of the town to get a feel for it. Then maybe some museum trips later on.

Berlin

So we are finally in Berlin. We took a flight from Barcelona yesterday, which was delayed by about 3 hours, so when we finally arrived it was much later than expected. Despite this, I think both Em and I are already in the love with our hostel and the city. To start, the hostel is incredible: the nicest people, the cleanest most well-equipped facilities. It is called the Jetpack City hostel and if you are ever in Berlin and in need of a hostel, go to this one. We are probably going to take one of the free walking tours to get acquainted with the city and then see what we want to tdo from there. More to come later, when there is time.

"Today, we celebrate our Independence Day"

In honor of the Fourth of July, we are wearing red, white and blue and going to have a big American dinner at Hard Rock cafe. It is also our last day with Emily Monaco, as she is heading off to Perpignan tomorrow and we are heading off to Berlin. Although I know we are all having a blast, I think traveling is starting to wear us out and seeing the sights is getting to be tiring. I'm glad that Reed and I are going to be spending so much time in Berlin, so that we can get a bit settled.

I have to say that almost every day of this trip, I have tried to represent myself and my country to people in a good light. It's hard out here, having to fight the stereotypes and the realities of American culture in the lives of others around the world. It's a an uphill battle that I will choose to continue to fight for as long as it takes. I think it's a battle that is important because of all the great things that American people and culture have to offer. We often get the short end of the stick when people around the world view our culture, but I still think it's an amazing country with more opportunity than one can imagine and when people don't see that potential, when they down on it, they make the stereotypes worse, they make the image even more tainted. So, I guess I'm glad to be here and I'm glad to go back, because for me, America is worth the fight.

Gaudí

Went to the Gaudí Cathedral today and boy was it impressive. It was a lot like the way you imagine old Cathedrals to have been. Except now our scope is bigger, so the building is bigger and more fantastic. There are more colors and movement to the design. It makes you realize what it must have been like to walk into a Cathedral during the Middle Ages and how you could see the power of God through the building, because it was so massive, there was so powerful of a presence.

That's the thing about Europe, the way you feel connected to the past here. They don't give up on some of the old things and the old ways of working. When you go to a city in Europe, the likeliness of finding a Cathedral is pretty good. What you realize when you hear the history, is that the building probably took several generations to see the completion of the Cathedral and the people who started it wouldn't live to see the day of its completion. That is how the Cathedral being built today is: Gaudí died in 1926 and still, people work towards finishing this incredible building. There is no end in sight, but when you see it and stand in its massive interior you understand why people are still building and still looking. Europeans aren't afraid of taking time and of going for the long haul. You realize when you are in these buildings that you are a part of history and not just separate from it. The choices you make now are historical, they are meaningful to the past and the future. You are connected to the people who were there before you just as much as the people who will come after you.

Barcelona

aka Barthalona. Those Spanish people love the their 'th' sound.

We took the overnight train to Barcelona and arrived a bit tired and hot to our hostel. Barcelona is our last city all three of us, so it's a little bit bittersweet to be here. Our next stop is Berlin, with just Emily Reed and I. I'm kinda much excited about it :)

We haven't had much of an opportunity to check out the city yet, but I'm hoping to do a bit of touristy stuff, like the Gaudí, Picasso (maybe), and just get to the city center. I'll write more about it later.

Just another thing on my mind: two weeks from now I will be back in the States (NYC, to be exact) I'm looking forward to it, but at the same time, it is sad to leave and see this experience coming to an end. Europe has definitely left an impression on me and I 'm interested to see how it will cross over the Atlantic...I guess that's the thing about life, you just dive in and see where you come up in the end.